Cons

No camera (yet).
Does not integrate with third-party surveillance cameras or other smart home devices.
Clunky-looking hardware.
Bare-bones mobile app.
Online Dashboard doesn't log you out after inactivity.

Bottom Line

If you want to secure and monitor your home from afar without spending a bundle, there's a lot to like about the versatile and easy-to-use DIY SimpliSafe Home Security System.

15 Jul 2017Wendy Sheehan Donnell

Like many new homeowners, I like the idea of securing my family and my house, but I don't like the idea of locking myself into a multi-year service contract during which I have to pay a high monthly monitoring fee. And drilling into freshly painted walls to install a wired system isn't terribly appealing. SimpliSafe is a wireless security system that's easy to set up and use, and keeps your home safe from intruders and environmental threats like fires and floods. It's a seamless DIY system that succeeds quite well at what it sets out to do—secure your home simply and flexibly, letting you monitor everything remotely with an affordable monthly monitoring plan.

My two biggest gripes when I first tested SimpliSafe back in 2015 were the lack of a camera and support for other smart home devices and protocols. Recently, SimpliSafe has added the $99 SimpliCam camera, which integrates with the system to let you see what's happening at home when you're not there. And the system now works with the Nest Learning Thermostat to control the temperature in your home based on alarm modes.

Package and Monitoring Plan Pricing

One of the nicest things about SimpliSafe is that it's a completely configurable system, with five packages available. I tested the soup-to-nuts Ultimate Security package ($539.85), which comes with 16 hardware components including the base station, a wireless keypad, a keychain remote, two motion sensors, four door/window entry sensors, a panic button, a 105-decibel siren, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, water and freeze sensors, and a SimpliSafe yard sign and window decals. The least expensive Starter pack ($229.96), which focuses on basic home security, includes the base station, a wireless keypad, one motion sensor, one entry sensor, a keychain remote, and the yard sign and decals. If you want to add one or more SimpliCams (the system supports up to four), they're $99 each. Currently, SimpliSafe doesn't offer any packages that include cameras.

Additional components can also be purchased separately to create your own package, or expand on one. If you have a lot of windows, for example, you might want a glass break sensor ($34.99) or extra entry sensors ($14.99 each; the system supports up to 41 total sensors). Or if there are multiple entryways in your home, you can opt for additional keypads ($69.99 each).

If you want a one-stop home monitoring solution that encompasses more than just security, adding environmental sensors makes sense. Smoke detectors are $29.99 each and you can hook them into your monitoring plan, which will alert you via email or SMS when an alarm is triggered and send first responders to your door in the event of a fire. The same goes for carbon monoxide detectors, which are $49.99 each. Freeze sensors ($29.99 each) alert you when the temperature falls below a certain point to prevent burst pipes, and water sensors ($19.99 each) detect and alert you of leaks and floods.

Prices for additional hardware are reasonable when you consider that extra entry sensors cost $39.99 each with Samsung's SmartThings Home Monitoring system. Even with the budget-focused iSmartAlarm, entry sensors are two for $59.99.

For monitoring, there's a basic $14.99 per month Standard plan that includes 24/7 coverage. If a sensor is triggered, SimpliSafe will contact you, and if you don't provide a safe word that you designate during setup, police will be dispatched. For $10 more per month, the Interactive plan adds SMS and email alerts, the ability to use the Online Dashboard for finer control of the system (more on that in a minute), and the smartphone app to arm and disarm the system. Another neat feature you get with the Interactive plan is the ability to set up sensors in an Alert Only mode, without triggering alarms. Have a well-stocked liquor cabinet and curious teenagers? You can put an entry sensor on the door and you'll be notified each time the cabinet is accessed.

If you don't want to pay the monthly fees, SimpliSafe can be used as a local alarm. So when a sensor is triggered, it's up to you to contact the authorities. There aren't any contracts or commitments and you can start and stop service or change plans at any time. This flexibility is what makes SimpliSafe a compelling alternative to competitors like ADT Pulse or Vivint Smart Home, where monitoring fees cost more, ranging from $30-$60 per month. And with those fuller-service systems, you need to sign contracts and are subject to steep penalties for early termination.

Setting Up SimpliSafe

The base station that powers the SimpliSafe system is a 10.5-inch-tall large white plastic cone with a blue light at its base; it glows steadily to tell you that the alarm is on, and pulses to tell you there's an error with one of your sensors. Setup of the base station just requires placing it in a central location within 400 feet of your sensors and 100 feet of your keypad(s), and plugging in the included power cord. It doesn't connect to your Wi-Fi router, which gives you more freedom in placement. Inside, there's an 85-decibel siren, a backup battery, and a SIM card that allows cellular communication for monitoring. Some traditional security systems require you to have a landline phone; with cellular service, there are no wires for extra-shrewd crooks to clip to bypass the system.

The keypad and sensors are powered by user-replaceable lithium batteries, which should last about five years with standard use, and the system will warn you when they need to be replaced. Installation requires no wiring or drilling. I simply pulled off the battery-activation strips, peeled the backing on the 3M Command-like strips, and adhered each component according to the instructions in the included Owner's Manual. Components are easy to move around without damaging your walls, and you can take the system with you to your next residence, which is a welcome feature.

It's worth noting that early in the initial 90-day test period, a motion sensor fell down on a particularly humid day (thankfully, it didn't set off an alarm). I reaffixed it, and it's been fine since. If you'd rather, you can use the provided screws to install the components in a more permanent fashion.

One nit: The hardware—particularly the base station and the keypad—looks dated. The chunky white plastic coupled with the tiny, monochrome display on the keypad look seriously retro. And the SimpliCam camera is black, while the other components are white. The system lacks the sleek styling of other smart home products like the August Smart Lock or Vivint Smart Home, with its 7-inch color LCD control panel.

And currently there's no support for Zigbee, Z-Wave, IFTTT, or other home automation protocols outside of the aforementioned Nest integration, which helps control the temperature in your home based on when you're not there (for example, when they system is armed in Away mode). That means no integration with third-party cameras, lights, door locks, video door bells, or any other smart home devices.

Still, SimpliSafe succeeds in keeping things, well, simple: Setting up the system, which includes installing the keypad, entry sensors, siren, panic button, and environmental sensors, then setting up a PIN and testing everything took me about an hour. The Starter package can easily be set up in less than 30 minutes.

Pop off its cap, and the keychain remote doubles as a USB drive; if you have a Windows PC, you can plug it in and use the Easy Setup Wizard to configure your system. SimpliSafe also provides plenty of setup help and tips on its site. The company covers the system with a 60-day money-back guarantee and a three-year warranty on hardware.

Adding SimpliCam

The SimpliCam is the only SimpliSafe component that uses Wi-Fi. Setup is easy and consists of entering your wireless network details and scanning a QR code in the app. The camera is a plain-looking black plastic rectangle—which contains a round lens, privacy shutter, microphone, and LED indicator—that slides onto a black metal stand. At 4.56 by 2.55 by 2.08 inches (HWD) and 5.3 ounces, it's pretty standard in size as far as home surveillance cameras go.

The indoor-only camera is height and tilt adjustable, but lacks the ability to pan or zoom, though a 120-degree lens assures a wide range of view. The attached flat cable is nice and long at 10 feet, giving you some flexibility in where you can place it, since it needs to be plugged into a wall outlet.

Video is captured in 720p, but looks surprisingly good. It's also quite smooth, and never suffered choppiness in my testing—despite the fact that the camera only operates on the 2.4GHz band. When analyzing footage captured with an adjacent 1080p Logi Circle, which supports the 5GHz band, the SimpliCam's video quality was comparable. Sound captured is a bit muffled, but certainly audible, and the camera does not currently support two-way audio. Night vision footage is clear and motion detection sensitivity can be adjusted in the app. Motion detection is based on heat signature so the camera can discern the difference between, say, a spinning fan, a small dog, and an actual moving person who's breaking in to your home.

Push-based alerts and a live camera feed are free. A $4.99 per month/per camera optional plan lets you record, download, and share footage. With it, you can elect to allow SimpliSafe's monitoring center to view alarms in progress and provide visual verification of alarms to the police.

The metal privacy shutter on the camera is closed when the system is disarmed (off), or in Home mode. It opens when you set the system to Away mode and records if an event is triggered. It also records a short clip when you arm or disarm the system. And you can view a live video feed any time in the mobile app or the desktop dashboard, though the latter requires a Flash-enabled browser.

The SimpliSafe System in Action

With just three available modes, using the system is very straightforward. Home mode activates the door and window sensors, while Away mode activates both the entry sensors and the motion sensors. Test mode helps you set up the system and allows you to periodically ensure that all the sensors are in working order. The base station loudly and clearly announces your actions as you enter various modes.

When the alarm is armed and a sensor is triggered, the keypad will beep, and you have 30 seconds to enter your PIN. If you do not enter it, the base station siren activates and sends an alert to SimpliSafe, and the company will contact you via phone and ask you for the safe word that you designate during setup. If you don't get the call, or you don't provide the safe word, the Emergency Dispatch Center will send the police (or firefighers in the case of the smoke and carbon monoxide sensors).

I like that SimpliSafe contacts you before involving the authorities. For me, having cranky police officers show up at my door because I fumbled my PIN is one of the greatest fears that comes with having an alarm system in my house. To be doubly safe, you can also adjust the time period allowed for PIN entry up to 250 seconds, and it can be varied by sensor.

In my testing, all entry and motion sensors worked properly, and the base station and 105dB siren did their jobs of loudly announcing accidental breaches—and SimpliSafe's monitoring service contacted me promptly each time.

Online Dashboard and Mobile App

With the monthly Interactive Plan, you can use SimpliSafe's Online Dashboard to control the system, including arming and disarming it. The Dashboard also lets you view your System Event Log, change your PIN, assign up to four guest PINs, and choose an optional Duress PIN, which you can use if an intruder is coercing you to disable the alarm. Enter it, and the alarm will stop sounding, but SimpliSafe will immediately send the police. You can also tweak settings like siren volume, entry and exit delay time, and manage and rename sensors in the Dashboard.

I was concerned by one odd thing in testing. I had the Online Dashboard open in a tab in my browser, and came back to it several hours later, and I was still logged in and able to change my system settings. The site had failed to log me out after a period of inactivity. I even closed the browser tab, and reloaded it, and I was still logged in. Leaving your home's security settings available to anyone who happens to access your browser is potentially dangerous. I hope SimpliSafe remedies this.

The free mobile app, available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, is very basic. Using it requires the Interactive plan, and it simply lets you turn the system on or off and view your System Event Log. It's unclear why SimpliSafe doesn't provide the fine system controls it offers in the Online Dashboard in the app itself. Still, if you can swing the extra $10 over the Standard monitoring plan, the ability to customize and control your system from anywhere, offered in the Online Dashboard and app are well worth the price.

SimpliSafe or Something Else?

I really like SimpliSafe for its ease of use, flexibility, and price. It lets anyone add a security system to their home in less than an hour, using it is a breeze, and you don't have to sign any monthly contracts to get access to affordable 24/7 monitoring plans. And the long-awaited addition of a camera is definitely welcome. If you're into home automation, the Editors' Choice Abode Home Security will likely be a more compelling choice, with its Alexa integration, support for several smart home protocols, and compatibility with many existing devices. It too offers customizable hardware along with flexible, inexpensive monitoring. If DIY isn't your thing, take a look at Vivint or ADT Pulse; they will cost you much more, but you get a full-featured system with monitoring and someone will come to your home and set everything up.

About the Author

Heading up PCMag's reviews coverage, Wendy Sheehan Donnell is lucky enough to spend her days working with words and drooling over shiny gadgets inside the big glass box that is PC Labs in New York City. Formerly the managing editor for the consumer electronics and mobile reviews teams, she can typically be found knee deep in home theater and audio gear, digital cameras, tablets, mobile phones, and the accompanying accessories.

She's had a serious crush on Apple for more than 25 years, but a tumultuous love/hate affair with her iPhone has caused her to reevaluate this potentially unhealthy relationship. Still, she can't quite bring herself to break up with her ... See Full Bio